The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out

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"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" is a 1950 science fantasy short story by Reginald Bretnor. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction .

Contents

Synopsis

Papa Schimmelhorn is a semi-literate, self-taught mad scientist who invents a "gnurr-pfeife": a musical instrument which, when used to play the song "The Church in the Wildwood", summons clothing-eating monsters ("gnurrs") from the fourth dimension (such that they literally come out of the woodwork).

Reception

"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" was a finalist for the 1951 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Short Story. [1]

In the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , John Clute called it "hilarious" and Bretnor's "single most famous story", and stated that it "epitomized (...) the wit and literacy (of) The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction". [2]

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References

  1. 1951 Retro-Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved January 8, 2020
  2. "Bretnor, Reginald", in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , by John Clute; version published August 31, 2018; retrieved January 8, 2020

The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database